PG&E sued by Camp Fire victims

1of 49The lawsuit, filed Tuesday on behalf of some of the Camp Fire victims, alleges PG&E was negligent in failing to maintain its infrastructure, among other things. Authorities have not released the cause of the fire.Photo: Jessica Christian / The Chronicle

2of 49State fire investigators have not determined what caused the Camp Fire, which has become both the deadliest and most destructive wildfire in California’s recorded history.Photo: Scott Strazzante / The Chronicle

3of 49Fire personnel search for fire victims in the rubble of the Shelter Cove Apartments in aftermath of Camp Fire in Paradise, Calif. on Tuesday, November 13, 2018.Photo: Scott Strazzante / The Chronicle

4of 49Click through the gallery to see before and after photos of Paradise, Calif. after the Camp Fire.Photo: Kurtis Alexander/Chronicle

7of 49McDonald's in Paradise, Calif., as the Camp Fire devours the town, 15 miles east of Chico. The top photo shows the fast-food restaurant before it was engulfed in flames.Photo: Oakland Fire Department

8of 49BEFORE: Honey Run Covered Bridge, Chico
The Honey Run Covered Bridge was the only triple-span covered bridge in the U.S. Read our story here. Photo: jgreesonarts/Getty Images/iStockphoto

9of 49AFTER: Honey Run Covered Bridge, Chico

The historic Honey Run Covered Bridge connecting Chico and Paradise was destroyed in the Camp Fire.Photo: Kurtis Alexander/Chronicle

10of 49BEFORE: Edgewood Estates
The senior community mobile home park as seen in May 2012, located at 5427 Edgewood Lane, Paradise, Calif.Photo: Google Maps

12of 49BEFORE: Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, Paradise
Located at 1275 Bille Rd.Photo: Google Maps

13of 49AFTER: Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, Paradise
The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints burns during Camp Fire in Paradise, Calif. on Thursday, Nov. 8, 2018.Photo: Scott Strazzante / The Chronicle

14of 49BEFORE:
The Paradise Gardens
The senior living community as seen in July 2012. Located at 1040 Buschmann Rd., directly across the street from the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. Photo: Google

19of 49AFTER: Treasures from Paradise, ParadiseA destroyed antique shop is seen off of Skyway after the Camp Fire tore through the town of Paradise, Calif. on Friday, Nov. 9, 2018.Photo: Gabrielle Lurie / The Chronicle

20of 49BEFORE: ARCO, Paradise
A view of an ARCO Gas station located at 7575 Skyway, Paradise, Calif.Photo: Google Maps

21of 49AFER: ARCO, Paradise
Rocklin police officer Randy Law tends to a horse that was found wandering after the Camp Fire moved through the area on Nov. 9, 2018 in Paradise, Calif.Photo: Justin Sullivan/Getty Images

22of 49BEFORE: Blackbear Diner, Paradise
A local place for American comfort food.

46of 49BEFORE: Feather River Hospital, Paradise
The Adventist Health Feather River hospital is a 101-bed acute care hospital with an array of outpatient departments and services. The hospital still stands but sustained significant damages. Photo: Google Maps

Pacific Gas and Electric Co. and its parent company were sued Tuesday in San Francisco County Superior Court by attorneys representing several victims of the Camp Fire, one of what will likely be multiple legal attempts to hold the utility responsible for the historic disaster.

The lawsuit accuses the San Francisco energy company of failing to properly maintain its infrastructure and equipment, and it claims those alleged missteps resulted in the ignition of the still-uncontained blaze in Butte County east of Chico.

Mike Danko, one of the attorneys involved in the case, believes his lawsuit is the first against PG&E in connection to the Camp Fire. He said Tuesday afternoon he expected others to be filed soon.

State fire investigators have not determined what caused the Camp Fire, which has become both the deadliest and most destructive wildfire in California’s recorded history.

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But PG&E told state regulators a high-voltage power line near the origin point of the conflagration had a problem just before the fire started.

Tuesday’s lawsuit calls PG&E’s safety record an “abomination” and describes the utility as having “developed a regular pattern of placing its own profits before the safety of the California residents it serves.”

The suit also alleges the Camp Fire resulted from a flawed corporate culture.

“Rather than spend the money it obtains from customers for infrastructure maintenance and safety, PG&E funnels this funding to boost its own corporate profits and compensation,” the suit says. “This pattern and practice of favoring profits over having a solid and well-maintained infrastructure that would be safe and dependable for years to come left PG&E vulnerable to an increased risk of a catastrophic event such as the Camp Fire.”

PG&E, contacted for comment, did not address the specifics of the suit. In a statement, the company noted that the “cause of the Camp Fire has not yet been determined” and that it is focused on responding to the emergency.

Danko said his legal team is accepting more clients on the case, but attorneys moved quickly to help the initial clients “be heard right away.” He said filing his case quickly could also help all the suits be coordinated in San Francisco, should others come to fruition.

“They’ve destroyed people’s lives, killed people and burned down many houses — in fact, an entire town,” Danko said of PG&E. “At some point, there has to be accountability.”

J.D. Morris is a business reporter covering energy, including PG&E, Tesla and California’s clean power initiatives.

Before joining The Chronicle, he was the Sonoma County government reporter for the Santa Rosa Press Democrat, where he was among the journalists awarded a Pulitzer Prize for their coverage of the 2017 North Bay wildfires.

He was previously the casino industry reporter for the Las Vegas Sun. Raised in Monterey County and Bakersfield, he has a bachelor’s degree in rhetoric from UC Berkeley.